Key Events of the 2014 Hip Implant Lawsuit Bonanza

Metal-on-metal hip implants were once seen as an answer when it came to providing hip implants that would last longer and allow younger patients to stay active. But after their introduction in the late 1990s, they ended up proving problematic while undergoing wear and tear. 

Undergoing wear and tear, the implants in some cases have released chromium and cobalt ions. These ions can seep into local tissue near the site of an implant, potentially destroying bone and muscle. If these ions manage to enter a patient's circulatory system, they can injure the kidneys, liver, spleen and lymph nodes before elimination from the body through urine.

The devices have tragically become a multibillion-dollar bonanza for lawsuit lawyers--not just in the case of Zimmer but also for other major medical device companies such as Johnson & Johnson.

Here is a timeline of some of the major events Qmed has followed related to the lawsuits:

February 2014: Biomet Settles for $56 Million

Biomet, Inc. (Warsaw, IN) settled a consolidated lawsuit covering hundreds of patients who complained that the company's M2a 38 and M2a Magnum hip replacement systems injured them. The approximate $56 million settlement came to about $200,000 per plaintiff who received one of the devices as part of an initial hip replacement that had to be rectified more than 180 days after it was implanted. It also covers cases filed in a federal court before April 15 of this year. The case was heard by Judge Robert Miller in the US District Court, Northern District of Indiana.

Read full story here.

May 2014: J&J to Pay $2.5 Billion

DePuy Orthopaedics, a Warsaw, IN-based subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, told a federal judge in Ohio that it had waived its right to walk away from a settlement agreement covering thousands of DePuy ASR hip implant product liability lawsuits reached the previous November. The agreement could have allowed DePuy to get out of the deal, which will cost an estimated $2.5 billion, if too few of the approximately 8000 eligible plaintiffs signed on for the payouts.

The settlement will pay about $250,000 each to the eligible plaintiffs and set up a $475 million fund to cover extraordinary medical costs associated with the implants.

Read full story here.

October 2014: J&J Wins Hip Implant Case

A federal jury in Dallas on October 23 ruled against plaintiff Kathy Herlihy-Paoli. It was the first of about 6,000 claims against Johnson & Johnson's DePuy subsidiary over its Pinnacle artificial hip. The Montana woman had claimed that hat she suffered metallosis--a result of cobalt poisoning--due to large amounts of metal debris left in her body by the cobalt and chromium artificial hips. But the jury found that her injuries were not the result of defective design of the Pinnacle.

October 2014: Zimmer Accused of Destroying Implants

Plaintiffs suing Zimmer Holdings Inc. filed motion in federal court claiming that the company destroyed or lost 5500 of its Durom metal-on-metal hip implants.

Read full story here.

November 2014: Stryker to Pay More Than $1.4 Billion

Stryker settled thousands of lawsuits in federal court in Minnesota and state court in New Jersey related to its Rejuvenate and ABG II artificial hips. The settlement, which Stryker officials expected to coast at least $1.4 billion, came after months of mediation.

Read full story here.

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed and MPMN. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

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